Does a pool help home value?

Green SHOOT MEDIA Getting your home in tip-top shape and ready for market can run you ragged.

The last thing you need is to be heading in the wrong direction wasting, time, money and your patience.

Smart home preparations begin with setting forth a strict budget and then generating the tenacity to stick to it. We all want to improve our home value and get the most from a real estate sale, but some home improvements may eat away your sales profi t, and in some cases, kill the deal altogether.

Pools are complicated

One of the great myths in home improvement is that you should add a swimming pool to increase your property value. This is false and has landed many a homeowner stuck with a hefty installation bill. Pools are complicated home additions and subject to the “beauty in the eye of the beholder” viewpoint.

Home buyers who want to have a pool often have a general idea in mind about the size, depth, yard location and other factors involved with their property buying decision. Simply dropping a pool in your backyard is not a done deal to woo a pool person to your open house. It may be a step in the right direction, but don’t get your hopes up too high that your home is going to sell for a fi gure that leaves you a tidy profi t margin after the pool’s installation.

Will you drop in a pebble pool or gunite? Rectangular or ovular? No one can predict the outcome, so it’s a game of chance that you did the right thing if your goal is increasing property value.

Use of space

Some home buyers are adamant about not having a pool in the backyard for a variety of reasons. It is presumptive to think that everybody loves a swim, when precious lot space could be used for other recreation important to the new buyer.

Patio space for entertaining adds a lot of weight to a fantastic backyard living space. So, if you do decide to add a pool, be sure there is plenty of room to roam around it. In addition, home buyers with small children and pets may place a higher value on a property that does not have a pool. Safety and added space takes priority over a summer swim just a few months a year, and

some prospective buyers may turn away explicitly because of the pool.

Post pool sale

If your prospective buyer is open to the idea of a backyard pool, ask your real estate agent to make mention if your property has room for a pool. The new buyer may be able to add the pool construction onto their mortgage.

This option gives the new buyer the most freedom and fl exibility to create the pool size and style to suit their budget and ensures that you have not sunk thousands of dollars into a feature that is a hit-and-miss renovation.

However, before your real estate agent speaks up to the client, be sure to check city ordinances to determine whether your backyard can support a pool.

Each city and county lays down the law with restrictions regarding the water’s edge and the number of feet between the house and the property wall or fencing.

Real estate is one game where you may not misspeak when representing a property. Lawsuits are a way of life in this industry, so every fact must be double checked before making a claim to a client.

When considering upgrades to help get your home sold, adding a swimming pool is not a guaranteed home run. There are many considerations in the decision. FOTOLIA VIA GREEN SHOOT MEDIA